Ferdinand I of Austria
|coronation = 28 September 1830, Pressburg 7 September 1836, Prague 6 September 1838, Milan |predecessor =Francis I |successor =Francis Joseph I |coronation3 = |regent = Klemens von Metternich |reg-type = State Chancellor |regent2 = Franz Anton von Kolowrat-Liebsteinsky |reg-type2 = Minister-President |spouse = Maria Anna of Sardinia |house = House of Habsburg-Lorraine |father = Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor |mother = Maria Theresa of the Two Sicilies |birth_date = |death_date = |birth_place =Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire |death_place =Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, Austria-Hungary | burial_place =Imperial Crypt | signature = | religion = Roman Catholicism |}} Ferdinand I (19 April 1793 – 29 June 1875) was Emperor of Austria, President of the German Confederation, King of Hungary and Bohemia (as Ferdinand V), as well as associated dominions from the death of his father (Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor) on 2 March 1835, until his abdication after the Revolutions of 1848. He married Maria Anna of Savoy, the sixth child of Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia. They had no issue. Ferdinand was incapable of ruling his empire because of his mental deficiency, so his father, before he died, drafted a will promulgating that he consult Archduke Louis on every aspect of internal policy, and urged him to be influenced by Prince Metternich, Austria's foreign minister.Taylor, AJP: "The Habsburg Monarchy 1809-1918" Penguin Books, Great Britain, 1990, ISBN 978-0-14-013498-8, pp.52-53 He abdicated on December 2, 1848. He was succeeded by his nephew, Francis Joseph. Following his abdication, he lived in Hradčany Palace, Prague, until his death in 1875.van der Kiste, p 16 Biography Early life Ferdinand was the eldest son of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily. As a result of his parents' genetic closeness (they were double first cousins), Ferdinand suffered from epilepsy, hydrocephalus, neurological problems, and a speech impediment. Upon his marriage to Maria Anna of Savoy, the court physician considered it unlikely that he would be able to consummate the marriage.van der Kiste, John: Emperor Francis Joseph, Sutton Publishing London, 2005 ISBN 0-7509-3787-4, p 2 He was educated by Joseph Kalasanz, baron Erberg, and his wife Josephine, née Gräfin von Attems. Regency Ferdinand has been depicted as feeble-minded and incapable of ruling, but although he had epilepsy, he kept a coherent and legible diary and has even been said to have had a sharp wit. Having as many as twenty seizures per day, however, severely restricted his ability to rule with any effectiveness. Though he was not declared incapacitated, a regent's council (Archduke Louis, Count Kolowrat and Prince Metternich) steered the government. His marriage to Princess Maria Anna of Sardinia (1803–1884) was probably never consummated, nor is he believed to have had any other liaisons. When he tried consummating the marriage, he had 5 seizures. He is famous for his one coherent command: when his cook told him he could not have apricot dumplings (Marillenknödel) because apricots were out of season, he said "I'm the Emperor, and I want dumplings!" ( !).According to A.J.P. Taylor, he was in fact asking for noodles - "But it is an unacceptable pun in English for a noodle to ask for noodles" - The Habsburg Monarchy 1809–1918''Geoffrey Regan, Royal Blunders, page 72 1848 Revolution As the revolutionaries of 1848 were marching on the palace, he is supposed to have asked Metternich for an explanation. When Metternich answered that they were making a revolution, Ferdinand is supposed to have said “But are they allowed to do that?” (Viennese German: ''Ja, dürfen's denn des?) He was convinced by Felix zu Schwarzenberg to abdicate in favour of his nephew, Franz Joseph (the next in line was Ferdinand's younger brother Franz Karl, but he was persuaded to waive his succession rights in favour of his son) who would occupy the Austrian throne for the next sixty-eight years. Ferdinand recorded the events in his diary: "The affair ended with the new Emperor kneeling before his old Emperor and Lord, that is to say, me, and asking for a blessing, which I gave him, laying both hands on his head and making the sign of the Holy Cross ... then I embraced him and kissed our new master, and then we went to our room. Afterwards I and my dear wife heard Holy Mass ... After that I and my dear wife packed our bags." Ferdinand was the last King of Bohemia to be crowned as such. Due to his sympathy with Bohemia (where he spent the rest of his life in Prague Castle) he was given the Czech nickname “Ferdinand V, the Good” (Ferdinand Dobrotivý). In Austria, Ferdinand was similarly nicknamed “Ferdinand der Gütige” (Ferdinand the Benign), but also ridiculed as "Gütinand der Fertige" (Goodinand the Finished). He is interred in tomb number 62 in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna. Titles He used the titles:http://www.heraldica.org/topics/royalty/royalstyle.htm#austria His Imperial Royal Apostolic Majesty Ferdinand the First, By the Grace of God *Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, Bohemia, fifth by this name, King of the Lombardy and Venice, King of Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, Lodomeria, and Illyria; *King of Jerusalem etc. *Archduke of Austria *Grand duke of Tuscany and Cracow 1846; *Duke of Lorraine, Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, Upper and Lower Silesia, of Modena, Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, of Auschwitz and Zator, of Teschen, Friuli, Ragusa, and Zara; *Grand prince of Transylvania; *Margrave of Moravia; *Princely Count of Habsburg, Kyburg, Tyrol, Gorizia and Gradisca; *Prince of Trent and Brixen; *Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and in Istria, Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenberg, etc. *Lord of Trieste, Cattaro and over the Windic March. See also *Charles II of Spain (1661-1700) *List of heirs to the Austrian throne *Rulers of Germany family tree. He was related to every other ruler of Germany. Ancestry Ferdinand's parents were double first cousins as they shared all four grandparents (Francis' paternal grandparents were his wife's maternal grandparents and vice versa). Therefore Ferdinand only had four great-grandparents, being descended from each of them twice. Further back in his ancestry there is more pedigree collapse due to the close intermarriage between the Houses of Austria and Spain and other Catholic monarchies. References External links *"Biography of Emperor Ferdinand" Category:Emperors of Austria Category:Kings of Hungary Category:Bohemian monarchs Category:Kings of Croatia Category:Kings of Rus' Category:Rulers of Transylvania Category:Dukes of Opole Category:Monarchs who abdicated Category:Counts of Flanders Category:House of Habsburg-Lorraine Ferdinand of Austria Category:Knights of the Golden Fleece Category:Bohemian princes Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit Category:Grand Masters of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Category:Grand Masters of the Order of the Golden Fleece Category:People with epilepsy Category:People with hydrocephalus Ferdinand of Austria Ferdinand of Austria Category:19th-century Austrian people Category:19th-century monarchs in Europe Category:Royalty and nobility with disabilities